Non-standard construction
What should you ask if a survey says the house may be a designated defective type?
Ask the surveyor which system they mean and what they could actually see. Then ask your solicitor whether that system is on the designated defective list and whether a repair certificate exists. The survey cannot place the house on the statutory list, and it cannot take it off.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
“Designated defective” is a legal status for certain precast concrete homes in England and Wales, not a condition rating and not a comment on every non-standard house. Steel-framed systems and no-fines concrete are often talked about in the same breath and are not automatically that status. Swapping the labels is expensive. A Level 3 gives you a fuller description than a Level 2. Neither description is the lender’s decision.
The practical order is: name the system as far as the evidence allows, ask the lender if they will lend, and ask the solicitor for the paperwork. A specialist concrete inspection may then be justified. It is not justified by a rumour in the chain. Costs of that inspection vary. Ask for a scope that says how they will identify the system and whether they will open the cladding.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which features make you think of a designated system?
- Which systems are you not able to rule out?
- What should the solicitor and the lender be given, in your words, not in a shortened label?
What are the typical next steps?
- Pause any application that says “standard construction” if the survey says otherwise.
- Ask the seller for alteration and repair papers before you instruct more consultants.
- Do not start cladding repairs that a certificate scheme, if one applies, would have wanted to see undone.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does non-standard always mean designated defective?
No. Non-standard means it is not conventional brick-and-block or similar. Designated defective is a legal list. Ask which one the surveyor means.
Can a valuation ignore the survey and call it standard?
A valuer has their own instructions. If you know the survey has raised the construction, pass it on. Do not hope the valuation will not notice.